Between 1998 and 2007 Famitsu only awarded 6 games a perfect score of 40/40 (four 10's from four reviewers). In 2008 they have handed out two 40's already, the first to Super Smash Bros. Brawl and now to Hideo Kojima's magnum opus, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which releases worldwide on June 12th.
This marks the first time Famitsu has given two perfect scores in one year and also the first time a Konami title has received the honor (only Nintendo, Square, and Namco games have gotten perfect scores before).
Also of note is that Famitsu has never awarded a perfect score to more than one game on any specific console. Will the PS3 be the first to buck this trend? Final Fantasy XIII is still on the way after all...The DS (which scored a 40 with Nintendogs of all things) is also still a viable system and has Dragon Quest IX coming later this year.
Showing posts with label konami. Show all posts
Showing posts with label konami. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
You Got Your Silent Hill In My Track & Field!(?)
If you're wondering what exactly it is you're looking at, that's a screenshot from Konami's new International Track and Field game for the DS, in which Silent Hill 2's Pyramid Head is doing the backstroke.
Pyramid Head is best known for forcing himself on mannequin monsters, as well as for giving what is likely the only purple nurple that ever resulted in death, making this the most absurdly inappropriate guest appearance in any game, EVER.
Besides, how the hell can he swim with a giant rusty iron helmet on?
Is James Sunderland's dead wife also going to make an appearance?
In addition to Mr. Head, Solid Snake, Simon Belmont, Sparkster (!) and Frogger will also be playable. I always knew it was only a matter of time before Frogger and Pyramid Head would compete to see who could throw a javelin farther, I just didn't think it would be this soon.
Silent Hill V is Dead. Long Live Silent Hill: Homecoming
Well, Silent Hill V isn't really dead, it is Silent Hill after all. It simply traded in its "V" for a shiny new subtitle and a release date.
According to CVG, the game will now be known as Silent Hill: Homecoming, and will hit store shelves in Europe this September. Presumably the US date will be around the same time, but Europe has been known to get Silent Hill games early, even before Japan on occasion.
I'm a huge Silent Hill fan but I just don't find myself excited about this game. The fact that it's developed by an American studio doesn't bother me, because I rather enjoyed Origins on PSP (and the Japanese-developed SH4 sucked). Maybe it's because Resident Evil 5 and Alone in the Dark really look like next-gen games while SH5 so far just looks like a Silent Hill game with improved visuals.The standard SH gameplay has gotten kind of stale over the years so the story really needs to be incredible.
I'll still play it, but honestly, I'd be much more excited if they were doing a remake of Silent Hill 1 (which is LONG overdue). It's not a good sign for a franchise when you'd rather see an older game remade then get a new one. Hopefully The Collective (now part of Double Helix Games) will surprise me and deliver an amazing game instead of just a competent one.
According to CVG, the game will now be known as Silent Hill: Homecoming, and will hit store shelves in Europe this September. Presumably the US date will be around the same time, but Europe has been known to get Silent Hill games early, even before Japan on occasion.
I'm a huge Silent Hill fan but I just don't find myself excited about this game. The fact that it's developed by an American studio doesn't bother me, because I rather enjoyed Origins on PSP (and the Japanese-developed SH4 sucked). Maybe it's because Resident Evil 5 and Alone in the Dark really look like next-gen games while SH5 so far just looks like a Silent Hill game with improved visuals.The standard SH gameplay has gotten kind of stale over the years so the story really needs to be incredible.
I'll still play it, but honestly, I'd be much more excited if they were doing a remake of Silent Hill 1 (which is LONG overdue). It's not a good sign for a franchise when you'd rather see an older game remade then get a new one. Hopefully The Collective (now part of Double Helix Games) will surprise me and deliver an amazing game instead of just a competent one.
SURPRISE: MGO Beta Delayed
In a move which comes as absolutely no surprise if you've been following the tragedy of errors that is the Metal Gear Online Beta, Konami has announced that the start of the Beta has been delayed "due to extraordinary levels of traffic from all around the globe."
There will be another announcement tomorrow (4.22) once they've figured out the new start date.
Fittingly, they have also extended the end date of the Beta from May 5th to May 11th to compensate for the loss of time on this end. Hopefully a 6 day extension doesn't mean a 6 day delay until it starts.
The timing of the Beta was perfect because it would've given PS3 owners something to take the edge off the wait for GTAIV. Once that beast hits, the traffic on the MGO beta is going to drop off dramatically. Konami really needs to get the Beta up and running by Friday at the latest so they can get at least one good weekend of people playing it.
There will be another announcement tomorrow (4.22) once they've figured out the new start date.
Fittingly, they have also extended the end date of the Beta from May 5th to May 11th to compensate for the loss of time on this end. Hopefully a 6 day extension doesn't mean a 6 day delay until it starts.
The timing of the Beta was perfect because it would've given PS3 owners something to take the edge off the wait for GTAIV. Once that beast hits, the traffic on the MGO beta is going to drop off dramatically. Konami really needs to get the Beta up and running by Friday at the latest so they can get at least one good weekend of people playing it.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Metal Gear Online Beta Registration SUCKS
The MGO Beta starts tomorrow so I figured I'd better get off my ass and head down to Best Buy to pick up a Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 disc and get myself an access key. Best Buy had a bunch on the shelf, so no problem there. Even better, when I got the thing home and cracked it open, it had a 12 character beta key and not the useless 9 character codes a lot of people were getting (which requires a phone call to Konami to get the right code).
The beta downloaded reasonably fast, but I suppose at this point most people have had it downloaded for days.
After downloading and installation you need to download the Ver. 1.01 patch which also downloaded pretty quickly (you have the choice of HTTP or BitTorrent download; I chose the Torrent file). After installing that comes the real pain in the ass: registering for a Konami ID AND a MGS Game ID. That's right, you won't be using your PSN ID for this game and you will have to create not one, but two new names. Great.
Konami apparently thought Nintendo's Friend Code system wasn't complicated enough and decided to see if they could top them.
Right off the bat, I had the same problem as I did when trying to register my PSN name: for whatever reason, "skullivan" isn't a valid name. It's not just that someone else has it already (they don't), it's just not allowed. After trying for 20 minutes to come up with something I like, none of which are available or allowed (it has to be 8 characters minimum) I see that you can have periods in your name. I decide I can live with "skul.livan" and, lo and behold, THAT is an acceptable KonamiID.
It's then that I realize that I also have to create a GameID. I assume it won't let me use the same name as the Konami ID so I try all sorts of combinations of skullivan with a period in it. skulliva.n, skulliv.an, skulli.van, etc. All "unavailable", which, again, means it's just flat out not allowed, not that someone already has it. If someone else has it, you get "This ID is already in use". Keep in mind that every time you check the availability of a name it takes about 20 seconds and then another 10 seconds or so to get back to the main entry screen once the check is complete. So glad I have fiber optic internet.
Finally, I just give in and try what I entered as my KonamiID and sure enough, "Your KonamiID cannot be the same as your GameID." So I change my KonamiID to a different name, figuring it'll never be shown in game anyway, and make skul.livan my GameID. Hallelujah, that works.
It ain't over yet, though. Now I have to come up with new passwords for each ID because they both have different requirements. Konami ID passwords have to be 8-32 characters with at least one number, GameID passwords have to be 4-16 numbers, no letters. WTF? I don't want passwords at all, let alone two new ones with silly requirements.
What a tremendous amount of bother for something that is completely unnecessary. If this Beta was for 360, this story would've ended after the second paragraph.
It's worth noting too that my experience went about as smoothly as possible. A lot of people weren't able to get the KonamiID site to work at all and had to get other people to create ID's for them.
In any case, I'm all setup and should be able to play as soon as the beta goes live later tonight. You currently get an error message if you attempt to connect. Given how long I usually spend playing Betas, I probably spent more time downloading, installing and registering than I ever will actually playing the game.
The beta downloaded reasonably fast, but I suppose at this point most people have had it downloaded for days.
After downloading and installation you need to download the Ver. 1.01 patch which also downloaded pretty quickly (you have the choice of HTTP or BitTorrent download; I chose the Torrent file). After installing that comes the real pain in the ass: registering for a Konami ID AND a MGS Game ID. That's right, you won't be using your PSN ID for this game and you will have to create not one, but two new names. Great.
Konami apparently thought Nintendo's Friend Code system wasn't complicated enough and decided to see if they could top them.
Right off the bat, I had the same problem as I did when trying to register my PSN name: for whatever reason, "skullivan" isn't a valid name. It's not just that someone else has it already (they don't), it's just not allowed. After trying for 20 minutes to come up with something I like, none of which are available or allowed (it has to be 8 characters minimum) I see that you can have periods in your name. I decide I can live with "skul.livan" and, lo and behold, THAT is an acceptable KonamiID.
It's then that I realize that I also have to create a GameID. I assume it won't let me use the same name as the Konami ID so I try all sorts of combinations of skullivan with a period in it. skulliva.n, skulliv.an, skulli.van, etc. All "unavailable", which, again, means it's just flat out not allowed, not that someone already has it. If someone else has it, you get "This ID is already in use". Keep in mind that every time you check the availability of a name it takes about 20 seconds and then another 10 seconds or so to get back to the main entry screen once the check is complete. So glad I have fiber optic internet.
Finally, I just give in and try what I entered as my KonamiID and sure enough, "Your KonamiID cannot be the same as your GameID." So I change my KonamiID to a different name, figuring it'll never be shown in game anyway, and make skul.livan my GameID. Hallelujah, that works.
It ain't over yet, though. Now I have to come up with new passwords for each ID because they both have different requirements. Konami ID passwords have to be 8-32 characters with at least one number, GameID passwords have to be 4-16 numbers, no letters. WTF? I don't want passwords at all, let alone two new ones with silly requirements.
What a tremendous amount of bother for something that is completely unnecessary. If this Beta was for 360, this story would've ended after the second paragraph.
It's worth noting too that my experience went about as smoothly as possible. A lot of people weren't able to get the KonamiID site to work at all and had to get other people to create ID's for them.
In any case, I'm all setup and should be able to play as soon as the beta goes live later tonight. You currently get an error message if you attempt to connect. Given how long I usually spend playing Betas, I probably spent more time downloading, installing and registering than I ever will actually playing the game.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Siren Gets PS3 Remake
A month ago, a PS3 release list was leaked from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe which indicated that a new Siren game was in the works, bearing an unlikely release date of July.
Well, as it turns out, not only is the game for real, so was the July release date (at least in Japan). Entitled Siren: New Translation, the game is actually a remake of the PS2 original. Even better, a playable demo of the game (which is currently 90% complete) will be up on the Japanese PSN on April 24th. Why is it that American games are never announced when they are 90% complete and 3 months away from release? No, we follow the Duke Nukem Forever school of game announcing.
The original Siren, despite being an innovative addition to the survival horror genre with its multiple playable characters and unique "sightjacking" element, never made a big splash in America. For reasons I have never heard explained(likely lack of funding), the game, which is very much Japanese, had English voiceovers in the US version. As in British English. So these very Japanese characters in very Japanese settings are speaking with British accents. Just a bit awkward from an American perspective. A bigger problem was that the story was told in a circuitous timeline and certain segments could only be unlocked by performing obscure actions in particular levels, which the game never deigns to tell you. I couldn't imagine playing through the game without a strategy guide or FAQ close at hand. Also, it was damn hard. There were undead snipers (!) who could (and would) kill your ass in a split second. Over and over again.
The game received a sequel which was, by all accounts, much improved over the first game but it would never see our fair shores, despite being translated for Europe.
I liked the first game a lot but it just got too frustrating and I never finished it. Hopefully, this remake will:
A. Incorporate the features of the sequel that made it a better game.
B. Actually get released in the US (with American voice actors and/or Japanese audio option!)
C. Do well enough that Siren 2 also gets remade and brought to the US
D. Encourage Konami to remake Silent Hill 1 (whose creators left Konami to make Siren!)
That's a lot of hope pinned on one game, I know. At least with the PS3 being region free (and 720p being a universal standard, unlike PAL) if it only hits Europe, importing should be relatively painless, if a bit costly.
[via Kotaku]
Well, as it turns out, not only is the game for real, so was the July release date (at least in Japan). Entitled Siren: New Translation, the game is actually a remake of the PS2 original. Even better, a playable demo of the game (which is currently 90% complete) will be up on the Japanese PSN on April 24th. Why is it that American games are never announced when they are 90% complete and 3 months away from release? No, we follow the Duke Nukem Forever school of game announcing.
The original Siren, despite being an innovative addition to the survival horror genre with its multiple playable characters and unique "sightjacking" element, never made a big splash in America. For reasons I have never heard explained(likely lack of funding), the game, which is very much Japanese, had English voiceovers in the US version. As in British English. So these very Japanese characters in very Japanese settings are speaking with British accents. Just a bit awkward from an American perspective. A bigger problem was that the story was told in a circuitous timeline and certain segments could only be unlocked by performing obscure actions in particular levels, which the game never deigns to tell you. I couldn't imagine playing through the game without a strategy guide or FAQ close at hand. Also, it was damn hard. There were undead snipers (!) who could (and would) kill your ass in a split second. Over and over again.
The game received a sequel which was, by all accounts, much improved over the first game but it would never see our fair shores, despite being translated for Europe.
I liked the first game a lot but it just got too frustrating and I never finished it. Hopefully, this remake will:
A. Incorporate the features of the sequel that made it a better game.
B. Actually get released in the US (with American voice actors and/or Japanese audio option!)
C. Do well enough that Siren 2 also gets remade and brought to the US
D. Encourage Konami to remake Silent Hill 1 (whose creators left Konami to make Siren!)
That's a lot of hope pinned on one game, I know. At least with the PS3 being region free (and 720p being a universal standard, unlike PAL) if it only hits Europe, importing should be relatively painless, if a bit costly.
[via Kotaku]
Monday, March 17, 2008
Capcom Reveals 1942: Joint Strike
Capcom is quickly becoming the leader in updating old (and damn near forgotten) franchises for next-gen systems. Most developers are content to just throw emulated versions of their classic games up on XBLA and charging $5-$10 for them. Not Capcom. Not only are they releasing the 3D remake of Bionic Commando in May as well as Commando 3 in April (the XBLA version of which will include a Ken v. Ryu beta of SSFIIHD no less!), they have now announced a remake/sequel to their classic WWII vertical shooter, 1942.
Subtitled Joint Strike, the game features 3D graphics and 2D gameplay in the same vein as Commando 3 and Bionic Commando ReArmed. The title refers to special attacks you and a partner can perform after powering up a special meter. Yes, the game will feature 2 player co-op play, both offline and online. IGN has a bunch of screens and some video if you hit up the link. They're well worth checking out. I wonder if the yashichi will make an appearance?
Hopefully Capcom will be able to make some profit on these productions so we can continue to get updates to old classics like this. Their 3D updates to Mega Man and Ghosts and Goblins on the PSP didn't perform all that well despite being awesome.
Having now busted out obscure classics like Commando, Bionic Commando, and 1942, you've got to wonder what Capcom could pull out of their hat next. Forgotten Worlds? Legendary Wings? Strider? More importantly, if they are successful with them perhaps other classic developers (Konami I'm looking at you) would consider doing similar updates to some of their franchises. Especially seeing as Contra and Super Contra both sucked ass on XBLA.
Could you imagine a 3D Salamander/Life Force remake/sequel? (Requel?)
[via IGN]
Subtitled Joint Strike, the game features 3D graphics and 2D gameplay in the same vein as Commando 3 and Bionic Commando ReArmed. The title refers to special attacks you and a partner can perform after powering up a special meter. Yes, the game will feature 2 player co-op play, both offline and online. IGN has a bunch of screens and some video if you hit up the link. They're well worth checking out. I wonder if the yashichi will make an appearance?
Hopefully Capcom will be able to make some profit on these productions so we can continue to get updates to old classics like this. Their 3D updates to Mega Man and Ghosts and Goblins on the PSP didn't perform all that well despite being awesome.
Having now busted out obscure classics like Commando, Bionic Commando, and 1942, you've got to wonder what Capcom could pull out of their hat next. Forgotten Worlds? Legendary Wings? Strider? More importantly, if they are successful with them perhaps other classic developers (Konami I'm looking at you) would consider doing similar updates to some of their franchises. Especially seeing as Contra and Super Contra both sucked ass on XBLA.
Could you imagine a 3D Salamander/Life Force remake/sequel? (Requel?)
[via IGN]
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